Mr. Yarnworks and I were soooo excited when our first Christmas with a child came around. Miss May was 11 months old and we were sure it would be movie-worthy.
Oh how naive we were!
Miss May couldn't have cared less. She opened one present, then refused to open anything else because she was too busy playing with the first toy. It was such a let down for Mr. Yarnworks and myself, who had invested so much emotional energy into trying to make everything perfect.
3 days later, Mr. Yarnworks deployed for Iraq, and he was still gone for Miss May's second Christmas. She still didn't quite get into the presents thing as much as I did. Ah well.
Miss May's 3rd Christmas was a bit better, but she still wanted to play with each gift for an hour or so before moving on to another gift.
Our 4th Christmas, we had both Miss May and Miss Kate. Miss May was a bit more into the whole Christmas experience, but obviously Miss Kate was too little to understand any of it (she was 7 months old and visually impaired...kind of a difficult mix, since she couldn't even coo at the Christmas lights).
Our 5th Christmas, Mr. Yarnworks had been in another state, getting ready to deploy again. He'd been gone since October, and our Governor decided that his unit needed to come home for Christmas. The community raised the funds, and we didn't even have to pay for his travel. What a wonderful Christmas gift! Miss May was into Christmas, into having Daddy home, but Miss Kate was still a bit young to appreciate it all.
This is our 6th Christmas with children. And they get it!!!
Last night Miss May went down the checklist: cookies and milk for Santa, carrots and water for the reindeer, note for Santa pointing out that she'd left him cookies. She then lectured Miss Kate on the importance of being nice and going to sleep so that Santa will come.
This morning, the girls miraculously woke up on their own at the same time (and not at the crack of dawn...a Christmas miracle!) and their eyes turned into saucers as they walked into the living room. It was absolutely perfect. Each gift was opened with delight and awe, and each was followed up with some exclamation like, "Thank you so much! I love it!" or "It's perfect!" Stuffed animals and dolls were hugged tightly.
But better than that, our oldest now gets just as much joy out of GIVING. She helped Mr. Yarnworks pick out my Christmas gift and was THRILLED when I told her how much I loved it. And despite many bribes from Mr. Yarnworks, Miss May DID NOT reveal what we got for him. She held out for over a week. Amazing for a 5 year old who was offered treats and money, no?
This was also a year that we could afford to give the girls everything we wanted to. That is a blessing in itself. Not to mention that Mr. Yarnworks made it home safe and sound from his second tour in Iraq this year. It turned into a very good year indeed.
From our house to yours, we hope that your Christmas was as magical as ours! May the new year bring you everything you need to find happiness.
Oh how naive we were!
Miss May couldn't have cared less. She opened one present, then refused to open anything else because she was too busy playing with the first toy. It was such a let down for Mr. Yarnworks and myself, who had invested so much emotional energy into trying to make everything perfect.
3 days later, Mr. Yarnworks deployed for Iraq, and he was still gone for Miss May's second Christmas. She still didn't quite get into the presents thing as much as I did. Ah well.
Miss May's 3rd Christmas was a bit better, but she still wanted to play with each gift for an hour or so before moving on to another gift.
Our 4th Christmas, we had both Miss May and Miss Kate. Miss May was a bit more into the whole Christmas experience, but obviously Miss Kate was too little to understand any of it (she was 7 months old and visually impaired...kind of a difficult mix, since she couldn't even coo at the Christmas lights).
Our 5th Christmas, Mr. Yarnworks had been in another state, getting ready to deploy again. He'd been gone since October, and our Governor decided that his unit needed to come home for Christmas. The community raised the funds, and we didn't even have to pay for his travel. What a wonderful Christmas gift! Miss May was into Christmas, into having Daddy home, but Miss Kate was still a bit young to appreciate it all.
This is our 6th Christmas with children. And they get it!!!
Last night Miss May went down the checklist: cookies and milk for Santa, carrots and water for the reindeer, note for Santa pointing out that she'd left him cookies. She then lectured Miss Kate on the importance of being nice and going to sleep so that Santa will come.
This morning, the girls miraculously woke up on their own at the same time (and not at the crack of dawn...a Christmas miracle!) and their eyes turned into saucers as they walked into the living room. It was absolutely perfect. Each gift was opened with delight and awe, and each was followed up with some exclamation like, "Thank you so much! I love it!" or "It's perfect!" Stuffed animals and dolls were hugged tightly.
But better than that, our oldest now gets just as much joy out of GIVING. She helped Mr. Yarnworks pick out my Christmas gift and was THRILLED when I told her how much I loved it. And despite many bribes from Mr. Yarnworks, Miss May DID NOT reveal what we got for him. She held out for over a week. Amazing for a 5 year old who was offered treats and money, no?
This was also a year that we could afford to give the girls everything we wanted to. That is a blessing in itself. Not to mention that Mr. Yarnworks made it home safe and sound from his second tour in Iraq this year. It turned into a very good year indeed.
From our house to yours, we hope that your Christmas was as magical as ours! May the new year bring you everything you need to find happiness.
Beautiful story and I'm so happy that things are sounding so good for you! Merry Christmas Yarnworks family and all the best for the New Year.
ReplyDeleteOooh..isn't it fun that they get it now?! The boys were amazing too! They loved every moment, from picking out the tree, decorating, wrapping...they kept mommy's present a secret too! I want to see those Christmas pictures!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful Xmas story! It sounds as though you all had a wonderful holiday, and I'm glad Mr. Yarnworks got to make it home for the holiday, safe and sound.
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